1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector incorporating an electronic element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-229151 discloses a connector to be used for an O2 sensor of an engine mounted on a car and incorporates an electronic element, namely a resistance element. The resistance element is spanned between two bus bars and soldered thereto, and the periphery of the resistance element is resin-molded.
The above-described connector may require the kind of the resistance element to be altered according to the kind of the O2 sensor. A connector has been developed in recent years with a resistance element that has a pair of lead wires provided at both ends of a resistance element body. Bus bars have element connection parts connected to the lead wires respectively and equipment connection parts connected to equipment. The bus bars are mounted to a connector housing by molding with the bus bars arranged side by side. The kind of the resistance element of this connector can be altered in dependence on the kind of the O2 sensor, and the element connection part of the bus bar and the lead wire of the resistance element are welded to each other by using laser beam.
The bus bars of this connector are mounted on the connector housing with the bus bars arranged side by side and penetrating through the housing. To mount the connector on equipment, an operator grips a pair of the equipment connection parts projected from the housing with the bus bars being arranged side by side in the same direction. Thus there is a fear that the bus bars will displace from each other about the connector housing like a seesaw. The connector is mounted on the periphery of the engine and is exposed to a high temperature during use. Thus the bus bars repeatedly are subjected to thermal expansion and shrinkage. Therefore the connector has a problem in that a force for separating the bus bars and the lead wire from each other is applied to the portion where the bus bars and the lead wire are connected. Hence, the portion where the bus bars and the lead wire are connected are likely to crack and the reliability in the connection between the lead wire and the bus bars deteriorates.
The invention has been completed based on the above-described situation. It is an object of the invention to improve reliability in the connection between a lead wire and bus bars by relaxing a force of separating the bus bars and the lead wire from each other.